Destined to Repeat
by corneroffandom
Summary: Mandy receives some advice from Kelly Kelly.


There's a tense silence backstage. Partially from people still watching the women's rumble, partially from the people who'd been _eliminated_ from the rumble. Including Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, who are standing with their backs to the monitors, disinterested in the melodrama unfolding between Santina, Beth Phoenix and Natalya.

Fire & Desire are pointedly not looking at each other, Sonya gazing at the wall while Mandy stares at the floor and adjusts her gear, which is growing more and more uncomfortable the longer they stand there. "Hey," Sonya finally says, lightly touching Mandy's arm. "I- I really meant what I said earlier. I would've given up my spot for you if I could've. The opportunity just... wasn't there." 

Mandy exhales, then nods. "I know," she says grimly. "You're a good best friend, Sonya. I just... it's frustrating, I didn't know if I could last the entire match, but I thought I'd last longer than _that_." She taps her fingernail against her lips and grimaces. "Otis really tried his best to help, but it was too much even for him. What a mess." She glances briefly at the monitor and turns towards Sonya, about to suggest they go, find Otis and Tucker, and maybe get something to eat, when someone clears their throat.

Mandy's first instinct is to ignore this noise, continue walking, but then Kelly Kelly steps closer, blocking the path Mandy was planning on taking to find Otis, and smiles vaguely at her. "Excuse me, may I talk to you about something?" When Mandy makes a face, she hastens to explain, "It'll only take a couple of minutes, I promise." She glances over at Sonya, as if expecting her to turn and leave, and Mandy bristles further.

"If you have something to say, just say it," she says, easing back into place next to Sonya to show they're a packaged deal. _What affects one of us affects both of us._

Kelly nods. "Alright, then." She hesitates for a few moments, then exhales slowly. "I've been watching you tonight, and, well, here and there on Smackdown the last few weeks." She looks up at Mandy with a pained little smile. "Your relationship with Otis."

Mandy frowns harder, close to grabbing Sonya and strong arming her way past the other woman. "My personal life is none of your concern, I really don't need to hear your opinion on what I do or-"

"I had an Otis of my own once upon a time," Kelly cuts in, speaking loud enough to be heard over Mandy's bluster, and this even attracts Sonya's attention, the two of them staring hard at the former Divas champion. "He was sort of... unconventional, and he scared me at first," she continues, "but with time, I got to know him, and he was... he was such a sweet guy. He was loving and kind, and would've given me the world if he could've." Her smile falters. "But others judged him- judged us. Didn't believe someone like me could have legitimate feelings for someone like him. And it tore us apart," she says sadly. "He said I deserved better, and we went our separate ways because I was young and didn't understand -"

Mandy scoffs, flips her hair over her shoulder, interrupting her. "What does this have to do with me and Otis? I'm not some naive little girl, I know-"

Kelly stands straighter, all of a sudden, looking her hard in the eye. "That's true," she says. "You're not like how I was then. But it's already happened, with Dolph Ziggler trying to cause issues between you two. This business is unforgiving, it's cruel. There's going to be more problems, more heartaches, and it's not going to be easy. I'm just giving you some advice. That when you find someone like him, you hold on as tight as you can, and you never let go and you never look back. Because you never know when the chance will pass you by and you never get another opportunity to make things right."

Mandy is tempted to ignore it, watching with a perplexed expression as Kelly walks away, head held high, but something attracts her attention. The tears in Kelly's eyes as she turns and leaves. "Sonya, mind giving me a refresher course?" she wonders, voice sounding faint to her own ears.

Sonya finds her phone in a pile of things they'd reclaimed after the match and begins typing diligently away. Once she finds what she's looking for, she skims the website before handing the device over to Mandy, face pale and mouth held tense in a grimace.

Mandy finds herself staring at a picture of Kelly Kelly and Balls Mahoney and a giant teddy bear. She tilts her head, drawn in by the adoration in his eyes as she hugs the bear close, and then-

She swipes her finger against the screen, blinking at the paragraphs of new words that fill the screen, and her blood runs cold. "Oh," she whispers, suddenly understanding why Kelly was so vehement, why it had been so personal for her.

She hands the phone back, turns, and walks briskly down the hall, hands trembling ever so slightly against her sides as she walks faster and faster, needing to see him, to remind herself that he's ok, that it's not-

"Tuckey, c'mon, I really didn't-" Otis is saying from down the hall to her left and his words wash over her like a balm, soothing her frayed nerves.

Tucker freezes when he sees her approaching them and she can only imagine how she must look, still disheveled from the match, in her wrestling gear, with the fear in her eyes, but she doesn't care, walking up to them quickly and staring into Otis' wide, shocked eyes. She realizes she's weirding them both out by her silent scrutiny and finally finds her voice, a small smile crossing her face. "I don't think I remembered to say thank you for trying to help me tonight in the women's rumble. It was ingenious, truly." She leans up and presses a soft kiss to his cheek. "Thank you _so_ much, Otis." She pulls back and he's staring at her, dazed and blushing a sharp, deep red. It's cute. He's cute.

The longer she stares at him, the more Kelly's words echo back to her. _Dammit, I see what she means,_ she thinks, recognizing the adoration that Balls Mahoney had once held so deeply for Kelly that it had shone through in a thirteen year old picture reflecting in Otis' eyes as he gapes at her. Leaning in once more, she kisses him on the lips, feeling him shudder and gasp, his hands inching up to touch her, before she pulls away slowly and smiles at him. "See you at Smackdown, Otis," she says sweetly before turning and taking her leave.

She's not Kelly. And he's not Balls Mahoney. They won't have any regrets, she refuses to allow it.


End file.
